Big decision for sweet lovers of UP in the festive season: ‘Use by date’ mandatory on open and packed sweets from October 15

Just ahead of the festive season of Dussehra, Dhanteras and Diwali, the Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) of the Uttar Pradesh government has taken a big and historic step to protect the health of crores of consumers in the state. From October 15, it has been made mandatory for all the confectioners, sweet corners and sweet manufacturers across the state to display ‘use-by date’ on all types of sweets sold in their shops – be it packaged or loose sweets kept in the counter tray.

According to the official order issued by Food Safety Commissioner Dr. Roshan Jacob, now no shopkeeper will be able to sell sweets without marking the consumption date. From October 15, this rule will be 100 percent implemented in all 75 districts of the entire state.

1. Clear display on trays and display counters: The tray or rack in which the confectioner keeps the sweets, must clearly have a label or slip placed on the front of the tray, on which the date of manufacturing and the last safe date of its consumption (use-by date) are written in capital letters.

2. Date will also be recorded on the coaches: While packing sweets from the counter, it will be mandatory to write this date on the box (Sweet Box) so that the customer can know till when the sweets are ready to be consumed even after taking them home.

3. Classification according to shelf life: Not all sweets have the same age. FSDA has set the shelf life of sweets ranging from 1 day to 30 days depending on the ingredients:

   
   

   • Chhena and Bengali sweets (Rasgulla, Rasmalai, Chamcham etc.): Maximum 1 to 2 days (in the fridge).

   • Sweets made from khoya and mawa (peda, barfi, gulab jamun): 2 to 4 days.

   • Dry sweets of ghee and gram flour (laddus, mysore pak, dry ginger laddus): 7 to 15 days.

   • Cashew Katli, Dry Fruits and Canned Soan Papdi/Petha: 15 to 30 days.

4. Direct responsibility for quality till declared date: The legal responsibility of maintaining the purity and quality of the product till that date will be written by the shopkeeper. It will be directly the responsibility of the merchant to maintain the purity and quality of the product.

To crack down on adulterated khoya and paneer sold on a large scale during festivals, the government has imposed a complete ban on the use of ‘Ethylene Glycol’ and ‘Diethylene Glycol’ as industrial coolants in milk processing and milk cooling units (Milk Chilling & Processing Plants). These toxic chemical elements often get mixed into milk and milk products through leakage and prove fatal. Now only food-grade coolants have been allowed to be used in their place.

The Food Safety Department has given a clear warning that from October 15, teams of Special Task Force and Food Safety Inspectors will conduct continuous surprise raids in all the divisions and districts of the state:

• Sweets being sold without ‘use by date’ will be immediately confiscated and destroyed.

• Under sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSS Act, 2006), the license of the shop can be suspended or canceled for serious violations along with imposing heavy financial penalties on the shopkeepers.

During festivals, there were often complaints of shops selling old and stale sweets by immersing them in syrup or giving them a new shape. While this strict decision of the Uttar Pradesh government will curb adulterators and profiteers, customers will also get the legal right to buy pure, fresh and reliable sweets.